14 Actors Who Refused To Work Together

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Film sets can be stressful, and sometimes disagreements escalate, causing major problems for a production. This is especially true when working with actors who have strong personalities, occasionally leading to permanent rifts. Here are some famous pairs of actors who likely won’t work together again. We didn’t include situations where a performer is no longer working due to health issues, like the conflict between Kevin Smith and Bruce Willis during the making of Cop Out. We also left out pairings who have successfully resolved their differences, such as Will Smith and Janet Hubert from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Similarly, we excluded Wesley Snipes and Ryan Reynolds, who had a difficult time on Blade: Trinity but later collaborated on Deadpool & Wolverine.

Let’s look at some actors who have only appeared in one project together – or maybe haven’t even shared the screen much at all. Could we see them team up again in the future? Here are a few cases to consider.

7) Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel

The Fast & Furious series will eventually conclude, and the ending of Fast X showed that Dwayne Johnson will return as Luke Hobbs. However, things could have turned out differently. Johnson didn’t appear in much of the tenth film and completely sat out the ninth installment. He also noticeably didn’t share any screen time with Vin Diesel in The Fate of the Furious.

The two stars didn’t share any screen time in the eighth film because they never filmed scenes together. This stemmed from a 2016 Instagram post by Johnson, where he complimented his female co-stars in The Fate of the Furious but criticized some of his male co-stars for what he saw as a lack of professionalism. While they’ve reconciled enough to appear in the later parts of the Fast X story, it seems unlikely they’ll actively seek out future projects together beyond the Fast franchise.

Stream Fast Five for free with ads on The Roku Channel.

6) George Clooney and Russell Crowe

Despite never sharing the screen, Russell Crowe and George Clooney apparently don’t get along. It seems a rivalry exists between the two actors, even without a professional connection.

The feud began in 2005 when Russell Crowe criticized George Clooney, Harrison Ford, and Robert De Niro in an interview with The Guardian, calling them “sellouts” for appearing in mainstream commercials. Clooney later told Esquire that Crowe unnecessarily started the conflict. Clooney responded with a humorous statement, playfully agreeing with Crowe’s assessment and joking about he and the other actors considering forming a band – something he felt would further qualify them as misusing their celebrity. According to Clooney, this response particularly angered Crowe. Interestingly, Crowe has never actually worked on a project with either De Niro or Ford.

5) Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte

The romantic comedy I Love Trouble stars Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte as two ambitious, but clashing, Chicago reporters. While investigating a train crash, they suspect government involvement and, despite their initial dislike for each other, begin to fall in love as they work together to uncover the truth.

Many critics noticed a lack of connection between Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte. While they convincingly portrayed dislike in the beginning of the film, their chemistry didn’t develop as their characters were meant to fall in love. This likely stemmed from their difficult relationship off-screen. Roberts described an immediate friction, saying they “gave each other a hard time” from the start and often annoyed each other. She also said Nolte could be both charming and unpleasant. Nolte, for his part, stated that Roberts was “not a nice person.” It’s not surprising that the two haven’t worked together in the thirty years since I Love Trouble came out.

Stream I Love Trouble for free on Hoopla.

4) Bill Murray and Lucy Liu

After the recent Charlie’s Angels reboot didn’t succeed, some people have started talking about making a sequel that continues the story from the earlier films directed by McG. While it’s unlikely to happen, Bill Murray wouldn’t be part of it anyway – he wasn’t in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle either, and Bernie Mac took his place.

There were several conflicts on the set of the movie. Director McG claimed Bill Murray headbutted him, but Murray denied it. Murray and Lucy Liu also frequently argued, once when he unexpectedly added pages to the script. Liu confronted him about it, and reportedly, Murray responded by insulting her background as a television actress. Years later, in a 2025 interview with The Guardian, Liu revisited their difficult relationship, stating that Murray’s language was “inexcusable and unacceptable.”

3) Richard Gere and Sylvester Stallone

The Lords of Flatbush centers around four teenage friends—tough guys who enjoy chasing girls, shooting pool, and getting into trouble. The movie doesn’t have a complicated storyline; it mainly depends on the connection between the four actors: Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler, Paul Mace, and Perry King. Interestingly, Richard Gere (known for Pretty Woman) was originally cast in King’s role, but he and Stallone clashed and didn’t get along.

Stallone revealed in a 2006 interview that he and Richard Gere didn’t get along. He described an incident where Gere, while acting, became overly aggressive during an improvisation, ignoring Stallone’s request to calm down. There was also a physical altercation after Gere dripped mustard from a hot dog onto Stallone’s pants while they were sitting in a car. Ultimately, Gere was fired from the project, and Stallone claims Gere has held a grudge ever since.

2) James Franco and Tyrese Gibson

It wasn’t just Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel who had issues with costars on the set of Fast & Furious. Tyrese Gibson’s conflict happened while filming the lesser-known movie Annapolis, and it wasn’t with a fellow Fast & Furious cast member – it was with James Franco.

Mel Gibson was unhappy with James Franco’s acting approach, especially during a boxing scene they filmed together. Despite Gibson asking Franco to stop actually hitting him—remembering it was just a movie—Franco continued, and the two haven’t collaborated on any projects since.

1) Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones

Although Batman Forever was popular in 1995 and the villains, Two-Face and the Riddler, were written to have a playfully evil connection, the actors who played them didn’t get along in real life. Jim Carrey, who played the Riddler, attempted to build a rapport, but Tommy Lee Jones, as Two-Face, simply didn’t seem to like him.

Director Joel Schumacher said Jim Carrey was very polite, which apparently bothered Tommy Lee. However, a story Jim Carrey shared in 2014 on The Howard Stern Show is even more revealing. Carrey claims he approached Tommy Lee Jones at a restaurant the night before filming a key scene, and Jones leaned in close to whisper, “I hate you. I really don’t like you…I can’t stand your silly behavior.”

Stream Batman Forever on HBO Max.

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2025-11-05 20:13